- A LOT of tikis; a whole super Polynesian Pop restaurant destination: TV's-meets-Crane's Luau-meets-The Tikis-meets-Bahooka -- on steroids... (and tie it in to a renaissance-restoration of the Tahitian Terrace over in the Magic Kingdom.) Donn Beach and Vic Bergeron walk-arounds (arguing with each other over who created the Mai Tai)...

- A RADICAL expansion of the "Soaring" area, ramping-up an awesome collection of vintage "Right Stuff"-era aviation: multiple simulator rides, immersive interactive media, Chuck Yeager and Howard Hughes walk-arounds... (they would ALSO offer RAY-BANS for sale, the numbskulls, and realize they have a MAJOR tie-in opportunity with all the vintage WW II/South Seas themed goodies at Downtown Disney's "Island Charters" shop -- e.g., hot babe-bomber nose art-leather flight jackets, and model B-24's, and X-15's, and -- oh why don't these people GET IT...?)

- Weird O's*, and Universal Monsters* (*they made a deal with Lucas, didn't they? Well then...), and a "Summer-of-Love Herbal Tea Garden" where you can paint flowers on your date's face listening to Jefferson Airplane, and squeeze your own orange juice...

- and SURF! -- A whole Beach-Blanket-Bingopalooza, where today's killer surf bands can play with yesterday's greats (Dick Dale, Dick Dale...), just around the magnificent rock-and-palm faux-beach point (that SHOULD be there), that the TIKI stuff is on the OTHER SIDE OF (so the surf and exotica music don't clash), and you can TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF and wade around in the sand and foam, and meld between both scenes...; sim-surfboard rides and old woodie safari souvenir pics, with after-dark beach campfire sing-alongs (remember when it wasn't illegal to have real after-dark-beach campfires? Sigh...). Muscle Beach bods and Frankie and Annette walk-arounds...

That's what I believe "Disney's California Adventure" should include; that's what MADE California an adventure.

None of this is beyond Disney's technical capabilities, but, sadly, it does seem to be beyond their current imagination...

So what do we get? Pass and Alameda, and Mickey in black & white? These guys need to bring in some talent that knows how to dream on Walt's scale -- but then I suspect they'd be afraid to risk that. Maybe take another meeting about it...

Sheesh.

_________________"Don't let it be forgot,
That once there was a Spot,
Where Blowfish all wore sunglasses,
and Tiki-times were hot..."
SOK

They rent too many dog damned strollers! I swear I'm not going to take my future children until they are at least 5 years old! I know the place is for kids, but there is an abuse of strollers.I seen more than a few kids who seemed to be over 5 years of age sitting clamshelled in mommy's stroller. And if that isn't enough, you see people bringing in their own "double-wides" to mow down more ankles at a time....I seriously wanted to punch people, but then I had a Dole Whip float and everything seemed bliss again...

On 2009-04-21 00:28, Tom Slick wrote:They rent too many dog damned strollers! I swear I'm not going to take my future children until they are at least 5 years old! I know the place is for kids, but there is an abuse of strollers.I seen more than a few kids who seemed to be over 5 years of age sitting clamshelled in mommy's stroller. And if that isn't enough, you see people bringing in their own "double-wides" to mow down more ankles at a time....I seriously wanted to punch people, but then I had a Dole Whip float and everything seemed bliss again...

I said the exact same thing as you - we managed to hold off for 2 years and couldn't wait any longer (my husband would have taken her when she was 6 months if I would have let him). And having a stroller is my revenge for all of those years of getting hit with other peoples' strollers. Bwa ha ha ha.

On my visits to D-land, I have wondered how very young children (infants and toddlers) percieve the place. Is it a magical wonderland where their favorite cartoon characters come to life? Or is it an unfamiliar noisy place full of strange noisy people and the costumed characters are seen as big scary 6 foot mice/ducks/dogs with frozen expressions on their face? There are always lots of crying infants and toddlers at the happiest place on Earth.

on Ca. adventures on sun.
there were some of the nosiest screaming kids I had ever heard/seen.

and then a couple cool kids.
I saw this one, about 1 year old.
walking about 25 feet away from his parents, just with the biggest smiley on his face, and all he was looking at was a hill with grass and trees on it.
and not making a peep, just diggin the day.

wish there were more like that.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

_________________Jeff(bigtikidude)
"Where Good Rum is Immortalized, and Drinking is an Art"
"And, When that old "Demon Rum" slips past the lips it still works its ancient,cheerful magic" (Don the Beachcomber)

On 2009-04-21 11:51, King Bushwich the 33rd wrote:There are always lots of crying infants and toddlers at the happiest place on Earth.

I think the crying is not as much about Disney, but rather stupid parents who don't pay attention to their kids' cues. It's a big place with a lot going on, and it's a parent's job to make sure their child isn't getting hungry, overwhelmed, and stressed out. I used to be totally anti-Disney before the age of 3 or 4 but have found that it is an absolute joy to take our 2-year-old. Annual passes are a godsend for people with young kids that can only hang for a couple of hours at a time.
If I was being dragged around, waiting in lines all day in a place that is crowded and often hot, having nothing to eat but ice cream and french fries, I would want to cry as well! The poor kids' nerves are just raw!

On 2009-01-26 21:04, Coco Joe wrote:I wasn't sure where to ask this since there's no threads that pertain to the topic but what ever happen to the awesome tiki show they used to have? I remember it was in the lake/pond on the grounds of the disney hotel which had a fire dancers, outriggers, and hula girls with big boobies. I watched this show several times since my church (Melodyland) was just across the street going up. I would love if someone could share something and let me get my childhood jollys covered.

Regards,

Joe *me is drunk*

I remember a Polynesian dinner show next to the Tiki Room with fire dancers and hula girls. It was "sponsored by Kikkoman" and had mediocre food but the best coffee. Sometime in the early '90's it became the Aladdin dinner show. I don't remember one occuring on the grounds of the Disneyland Hotel.

The last time I used a Disney icon to make a point I got a beat down by Disney lawyers. Here's a true story...

Several years ago I was making a sales presentation to an IT group at Disney's HQ in Burbank. Now it's always good selling to personalize your Powerpoint presentation with your prospect's brand. I happened to use some images of Mickey Mouse and (my favorite character) Pluto. I was promptly informed by Disney procurement officials in the audience that I had no authority to leverage their characters in that way. They were NOT joking.

That's when I learned that the "magic" in the Magic Kingdom is trade-marked, copy-righted, and backed by an army of lawyers.

On 2007-11-28 18:04, Tiki-Kate wrote:Four words. Adventure Through Inner Space. It was my favorite ride of all time. Still haven't gotten over that one.

AND THERE! IS THE NUCLIOUS OF THE MOLICULE! (BUCKET SPINS AROUND & SHOWS YOU THE BIG RED LIGHT BALL)

Well ditto on what has already been said, but when I was Disneylanding as a teen in the 60's (my drug years) this was my traditional first ride of the day as it was fabulous for peaking on acid and then later in the day for necking with the cute guys me and the girlfriends picked up that day at the park.
_________________ "Oh waiter, another cocktail please!!!"